Marie Christine B.

Aano
Prof. Maricris Martin
Eng 10 THU4 Report Paper

Health Risks Caused by Popular Dietary Practices

Dietary practices are known worldwide, not just to reduce weight properly, but also to
improve the well-being of a persons health. People can choose from an array of diets that vary
depending on cultural, religious, environmental and medical factors. Among thousands of diets
available, the eight most popular diets, according to Christian Nordqvist of Medical News
Today, are namely: Atkins diet, Zone diet, Vegetarian diet, Vegan Diet, Weight Watchers diet,
South Beach Diet, Raw Food diet, and Mediterranean diet.
According to Stedmans medical dictionary, the word diet is defined as 1. Food and
drink in general. 2. A prescribed course of eating and drinking in which the amount and kind of
food, as well as the times at which it is to be taken, are regulated for therapeutic purposes. 3.
Reduction of caloric intake so as to lose weight. 4. To follow any prescribed or specific diet..
From these definitions, diets are generally assumed to completely provide positive effects to
those who practice them. However, the following information have negated this claim and even
some of the most prevalent dietary practices, which have been previously believed as entirely
healthy, are confirmed to pose a threat to those who would undergo these diets.
Atkins diet, also known as Atkins Nutritional Approach, is one of the most common diets
for it was created by Dr. Robert Atkins, a cardiologist. This diet reduces weight by controlling

the levels of insulin in the body. Low insulin levels must be achieved by the body in order for
ketosis to occur. Ketosis takes place when glucose levels from carbohydrates are low. Due to
lack of carbohydrates, the body is forced to use stored fat as a source of energy resulting in rapid
weight loss. Though it has been proven as effective, Atkins diet has its own drawbacks. Aside
from difficulty in maintaining the desired weight, it has also been noted to produce kidney
stones, brittle bones, bad breath, and heart and kidney disease (Prigg). According to an article
written by Mark Prigg, Dr. Susan Jebb, the head of nutrition at the Medical Research Council
Human Nutrition Research Centre, said: The Atkins diet is a massive health risk for people - it's
simply medically very unsound. The gut, in particular, needs a lot of carbohydrate and fiber,
which is cut out of these diets. That can impair its ability to work well, and people are putting
themselves at risk if they don't eat a lot of fiber and some carbohydrate. In addition to this,
according to Dr. Joel Fuhrman, a physician who specializes in nutritional medicine, a 16 year old
girl died after two weeks of following Atkins diet.
Majority of us have been introduced to vegetarian diet knowing that a diet centered on
vegetables is indeed healthy. The truth about the benefits of a vegetarian diet is unshakable but
there are still potential risks linked with this kind of diet. A 2009 review published in the
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition revealed that vegetarians have a total rate of cancer lower
than meat eaters but have 39 percent higher rate of colorectal cancer. Also, old people who
continue to adhere to these vegetarian diets may have early death risks. A study by the Honolulu
Heart Program found that elderly people with a low cholesterol concentration had a significant
association with mortality (Pfeiffer).
Veganism is more of a way of life and a philosophy than a diet (Nordqvist). A vegan is
different than a vegetarian in a way that vegans do not consider all animal products as their food

source. Therefore, vegan diets are low in cholesterol and fat but are high in fiber. This could
have been viewed as ideal by other people but entirely removing animal products in daily meals
increases the risk of certain nutritional deficiencies (Craig). There are certain nutrients
essential to a human body such as vitamins B-12 and D that are eliminated due to absence of
meat intake. A study conducted by EPIC-Oxford shows evidence that there is higher risk of
bone fracture in vegans due to inadequate calcium intake (Norris).
The South Beach diet is devised by Dr. Agatson a result of his distrust to low-fat diets
effectiveness. It is another distinguished diet that controls the insulin levels in the body and
promotes the health advantages of unrefined carbohydrates intake. This diet has been widely
acceptable around the world but there are several scientific studies confirming its health risks. In
this diet, Dr. Agatson recommends the use of Aspertame or also known as NutraSweet. Yet this
has been recognized as a health hazard in many studies for it was linked to a wide range of
diseases such as cancer and diabetes and various emotional disorders (Mercola). The South
Beach Diet has also been noted as the litany of false and misleading statements by Dr.
Fuhrman. According to him, the book Dr. Agatson published about the success of his South
Beach Diet contains flawed assertions that lack scientific backing. South Beach diet was also
proven as dangerous since thousands of women between the ages of 35 and 44 are dying of
cardiac arrest each year (Fuhrman).
The eating habit of the people living in the countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea
is called the Mediterranean diet. This includes Crete, Greece, Southern Italy, Spain, southern
France and Portugal. The foods involved in this diet are mainly from various plant sources such
as fruits, vegetables, grains and seeds. It emphasizes the intake of locally grown vegetation
within the area and the use of olive oil as the main fat and as a substitute to other fats and oils.

Scientists claimed that Mediterranean diet is the reason why Crete had the healthiest citizens 60
years ago but according to Dr. Lawrence Wilson, we should not take this into account at the
present time due to the fact that food sources are now contaminated with toxic metals, damaged
by radiation and even altered by genetic modification. She clearly stated that food sources
nowadays cannot be rendered as entirely healthy to be consumed; thus, the formerly believed as
advantages of this diet are now considered as invalid. In addition to this a research entitled:
Mediterranean Diet Could Influence Genetic Risk for Stroke, asserts that people who carry two
copies of a specific gene variant and eat a Mediterranean diet is nearly three times higher in
stroke risk than people with one or no copies of the gene variant.
Undergoing a diet may sound pleasing at first but sometimes certain kinds of diets could
be dangerous to the health rather than beneficial. These are just some of the numerous evidences
that millions of people might have been in imminent danger while they were trying to reduce
weight through these diets. Following these dietary practices can still be healthy as long as there
is medical advice from a trusted physician. A diet should not only make you responsible over the
foods you eat but also over the matters on neutralizing its harmful effects in your overall health
condition.